Monday, September 17, 2012

White Castle Burgers

Growing up with a father from the mid-west, one of the highlights when we would roll into St. Louis would be heading to White Castle.  Now, I know you either love them or hate them, being exposed to them as a kid, I admit, I love them!  The whole experience of seeing them on the griddle and all those little tiny buns being toasted on them as well.  I think it's part adorableness-factor, and the other part deliciousness-factor, that makes me love the Castle.  (oh and anything associated with the word "Castle" is okay by Princess ME!)

So, it is shocking to me that when I googled for a recipe for traditional sliders, and I came across this recipe (which I admit I skimmed, but got the gist of) for sliders, and I took it home to create beautiful sliders NOT REALIZING that "traditional sliders" taste just like White Castle burgers.  Remember, I skimmed the article, so I didn't see the whole "White Castle" thing at the very beginning.  I'm just interested in the recipe, not the story behind it!  

So, without further ado - Princess ME bequeaths upon you:

yummy!!!

Off-White Castle Burgers

recipe makes 6 "dinner roll" sized burgers

Put the buns in a lowly heated toaster oven (say about 150 or so) to warm them up (because I do NOT need to soak up extra grease, no matter if that is the way the castle does it! 

Slice the onion so that it fits in a food processor (I used my mini food processor, so I sliced mine in half, and then into smaller pieces.  Create a finely chopped onion with food processor (almost turns into a mince with lots of juice).  Salt the onions.

Add beef to a bowl and add the onion and about a tablespoon of olive oil.  Blend ingredients with your hands until the onion is well distributed through the meat.  The oil just holds it all together a bit.    Form this into 6 patties (I probably could have gotten it to go into 7 patties, but 6 was a better number for me.

Warm up a skillet over Medium heat and add a touch of olive oil to that.

When pan is ready insert the first 3 burgers (unless you have a large griddle and can cook all 6 at one time.  If so, I envy you).  Allow to brown about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on your slider's thickness.

Remove the rolls from the oven, and cut open and place patties onto them. Repeat with the last 3 sliders. 

If you would like to turn these into "Krystal" burgers add pickle and mustard.  If you're a castle lover, leave them or add the pickles if you must.

Enjoy!









Monday, September 10, 2012

Open-faced Peach (Nectarine) Stuffed Pork Chops

My "stuffed" version of these pork chops.
See the toothpicks?  Pain in the butt, skip 'em and
make them open-faced.
So, awhile back I was watching Food Network's Paula Deen show.  She was doing a recipe for Peach Stuffed Porkchops.  I really liked the look of them, but there are a few ingredients (cheese) that I'm not too keen on.  But I like the idea and thought I'd mess around with the recipe a bit.

Boy did they turn out great!  Now, there's a little disclaimer here: I put "open-faced" in the title, but the picture is of a stuffed pork chop.  I believe the next time I make this I will do them open-faced, because to close them up, it's pretty, but it is messy and takes longer.

So, without further ado, I give you....

Open-Faced Peach (Nectarine) Stuffed Pork Chops


  • 6 butterflied (if stuffing) or regular 1" thick pork chops.
  • 1 package Chicken Apple Sausage (this is what I used) with skins removed.
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried tarragon.
  • 2 nectarines (cause the recipe says to peel the peaches...like, who has time for that? But if you'd like, use peaches and peel them.)  cut into small bite-sized pieces.
  • Pepper & salt (to taste).


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a casserole dish (spray it or oil it up).

In a skillet over med-high heat, add oil and saute the chicken sausage till crumbled into small pieces (which is the hardest part of this recipe, since chicken sticks together pretty good).  Once complete, add the peaches/nectarines and tarragon.

(if stuffing, please follow Paula's recipe from this point forward, if not stuffing - continue below.)

Toss the mixture from the skillet into a bowl.  Return the skillet to temperature and add a tad bit more oil.  Brown the chops (just super quick to brown them, so maybe 2 minutes per side) and place the chops from the skillet to the casserole dish.  Over-top, add the sausage/peach mixture and place in the oven.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

Enjoy. (serves 6)